AL HIRT: LATIN IN THE HORN

AL HIRT
Alois Maxwell Hirt (7 de novembro de 1922 – 27 de abril de 1999) foi o mais popular trompetista dos EEUU. No Brasil estourou como uma bomba nas décadas de 60/70. Foi sem dúvida, técnicamente, um dos maiores trompetistas do século XX.
(Fonte: Wikipedia)

(*) Não gosto de Al Hirt. Apesar da técnica excepcional é um músico limitado, "quadradão", opaco e sem imaginação, como ele mesmo reconheceu. By the way: TAMBÉM não gosto do Winton Marsallis, que ainda não se definiu: não sabe se toca jazz, clássico ou popular. Tal como Al Hirt, Marsallis é só técnica: ambos NÃO TÊM ALMA e tocam mecânicamente, burocraticamente, como se fossem datilógrafos. Mas Al Hirt se redimiu, em parte, ao reconhecer que não é um músico de jazz, que é limitada a sua capacidade critativa. Ao contrário de Marsallis que SE ACHA...
----------
AL HIRT
Alois Maxwell Hirt (November 7, 1922 – April 27, 1999) was a popular American trumpeter and bandleader. Hirt was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of a police officer, and was known as "Al" or "Jumbo." At the age of six, he was given his first trumpet, which had been purchased at a local pawnshop. He would play in the Junior Police Band with the children of Alcide Nunez, and by the age of 16, Hirt was playing professionally, often with his friend Pete Fountain. During this time, he was hired to play at the local horse racing track, beginning a six-decade connection to the sport. In 1940 Hirt went to Cincinnati, Ohio to study at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music with Dr. Frank Simon (a former soloist with the John Philip Sousa Orchestra). After a stint as a bugler in the United States Army during World War II, Hirt performed with various Swing big bands, including those of Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, and Ina Ray Hutton. In 1950 he became first trumpet and soloist with Horace Heidt's Orchestra. Hirt then returned to New Orleans, working with various Dixieland groups and leading his own bands. Despite Hirt's statement years later "I'm not a jazz trumpeter and never was a jazz trumpeter", he made a few recordings where he demonstrated ability to play in that style during the 1950s. On February 8, 1970, while performing in a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, Hirt was injured while riding on a float. It is popularly believed that he was struck in the mouth by a thrown piece of concrete or brick. Documentation of factual details regarding the incident are vague. Hirt underwent
surgery and had to wait a while and then practice slowly to make a return to the club scene. In 1999, Hirt died in New Orleans of liver failure after spending the previous year in a wheelchair due to edema in his leg.
(Retrieved from wikipedia - edited by CB)
--------
ALBUM COMMENT
A lush, easy-going Brazilian outing, Latin in the Horn is aided substantially by the sophistication Lalo Schifrin brings to Hirt's cotton candy. Schifrin's orchestra waxes elegantly while Hirt's restraint is a pleasant surprise. Even though this outing post-dates the "Bossa Nova" fad by a few years, Schifrin was always masterful in this style (to date, his last journey in this direction except for his disco
retakes on this LP's first three tracks on 1976's BLACK WIDOW). Listeners will certainly want to hear the magic Schifrin weaves on beauties like "Taboo," "Angelitos Negros," "Margarita," "Be True To Me" and the two Schifrin originals ("A Sky Without Stars" and "Gringo A Go Go"). Much better than most would think.From the album cover - "Al Hirt...is heard here in still another context. The album authentically represents this exciting idiom...Here, in fact, is a dramatically different Hirt. His famous flair and exuberance are much in evidence, to be sure, in his soaring solo flights and biting attack. But one hears an emotional intensity in these performances--a certain introspective quality--that adds a stimulating
new dimension to Al's playing...In this album, Lalo Schifrin has showcased Al's horn against a varicolo red backdrop of strings and rhythm patterns that catch both the soul and the spirit of the new Latin-American sound. Schifrin...has spiced his scores with the true Latin flavor of his native South America, leavened with
a jazz feeling...Al Hirt's astonishing versatility will find new cause for wonder in this album of Latin-American music. And the millions of fans who now consider him 'the King' can henceforth regard him as 'El Rey.'"
(Source: Amazon)
---------
MINHA OPINIÃO: este álbum vale a pena pela excelência dos arranjos de LALO SCHIFRIN. A reharmonização de FRENESI é uma preciosa aula de bom gosto e criatividade, mostrando que o grande maestro em 1966 já utilizava inusitados caminhos harmônicos e substituições de acordes que só vieram a ser usadas muitos anos depois. O álbum é excelente pelos ótimos arranjos, cujo brilho nem mesmo a insossa participação de Al Hirt consegue empanar.
---------
AL HIRT: LATIN IN THE HORN
Recorded - 1966
Label - RCA/Victor

ORCHESTRA ARRANGED AND CONDUCTED BY LALO SCHIFFRIN

TRACKS/FAIXAS
1. Baia (Na baixa do sapateiro)
2. Frenesi
3. Taboo
4. Angelitos Negros
5. Meditarion (Meditacao)
6. A Sky Without Stars (Un Cielo Sin Estrellas)
7. Grigo A Go-Go
8. Manhã de Carnaval
9. Margarita
10. What a Diff'rence A Day Makes (Quando vuelvo a tu lado)
11. Be True to Me (Sabor a Mi)
12. Desafinado

DOWNLOAD: AQUI